Westwood Instruments has distinguished itself in recent years with a series of high-quality releases aimed at film composers. Starting with an upright felt piano 5 years ago, quickly followed by the very popular solo strings ‘Untamed’ series, the British developer always focused on unique sounds as their signature. They very recently introduced another addition to their catalog: Rotor – Solo Cello. This new library, focusing on rhythmic and short articulations, is meant to open a myriad of new possibilities for music composers. Let’s dive in and see what it is capable of!
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Rotor – Solo Cello is a library focused on motion and rhythm. It features a diverse selection of repetition performances and short techniques, performed by cellist Polly Virr, who had already participated in Westwood’s previous release Novella Origins. With around 150 tempo-synced rhythms, 15 short articulations, 15 flourish articulations, and additional cello percussion sounds, Rotor – Solo Cello comes well equipped to craft rhythmic-based tracks. Recorded in Studio Two at The Nave, the library features a very dry and direct sound.
Source: westwoodinstruments.com
Rotor – Solo Cello runs in Kontakt and Kontakt Player version 6 and above. After buying the library, you can download it using the free Pulse download manager and register it in Native Access. The process is simple and straightforward. After installation, Rotor – Solo Cello occupies about 32.6 GB of hard drive space.
INTERFACE
Rotor’s interface is beautiful, with a tasteful mix of dark and vintage-inspired color tones. Although text is present – mainly for the various rhythm descriptions – it is not overbearing and very easily readable. The library’s various functions are spread across three pages.
The main ‘Home’ page contains all the major settings composers could need. We can see Westwood Instruments planned this exceptionally well, as other developers sometimes spread these crucial controls out over several pages, focusing on form over function.
Rotor – Solo Cello main page
The layout here is simple but very effective: a technique selector at the top (along with associated settings such as tempo sync, time signature, and feel), global instrument controls, and a microphone position mixer at the bottom. Having all these settings easily accessible makes using this library very simple.
Individual advanced settings can be found by clicking the pen icon at the top right corner of any technique. This will open a menu where users can adjust dynamic control and ADSR. Additionally, there’s a fantastic feature: you can see in real time which round robins are being played and exclude any you don’t want. This saves a lot of time and eliminates the need for audio bounces and edits.
Rotor – Solo Cello dynamic controls
The second page has the master effects, including common ones like EQ, reverb, delay, and stereo width. There’s also a so-called transpitch setting, which plays the samples as if they were pitched down, then brings them back up to the correct pitch. This creates a sound that’s in tune with the key you play but has a darker and somewhat slower quality—perfect for sound design!
Rotor – Solo Cello FX page
Finally, the third settings page includes additional general options like velocity sensitivity, keyswitches, and purge controls. The ability to purge unused articulations is a fantastic feature, especially useful for building templates.
THE SOUND OF ROTOR – SOLO CELLO
From the moment I started playing, Rotor – Solo Cello stood out with a close, “in-your-face” presence—an absolute powerhouse of sound! The cello was recorded with high fidelity, delivering a raw and aggressive tone that’s truly captivating. The unique acoustics of The Nave studio are clearly reflected in the samples, creating the impression that the player is right there in the room with you!
I’ve created an audio demo showcasing some of the different articulations and techniques present in the library.
Click on the button to load the content from w.soundcloud.com.
The demo uses Rotor Solo Cello almost exclusively, except for the pads at the start that were done using Westwood Instruments’ Novella Origins. I used a combination of various loops along with short articulations, to test their interaction and usability. As you can hear, the shorts sound particularly convincing, and, thanks to the high number of round robins (7 for the vast majority of techniques) it is easy to craft musical phrases without them sounding robotic or repetitive.
The 150 different rhythmic loops offered sound amazing and versatile. They go from simple repetitions to far more fiery performances with additional flourishes and energy from the player. They are recorded in 4/4 and 6/8 (with a strong dominance of 4/4 rhythms). Westwood Instruments had their cellist record unique performances for each tempo, instead of simply playing the same phrase at different speeds, to better capture the energy of each tempo. However, users still have the option to sync these performances to their DAW’s tempo settings, offering maximum flexibility.
The different short articulations represent a strong set destined to cover most needs: from aggressive spiccatos to the softer brushed techniques, the library is versatile and capable of a range of different musical expressions. Among these, the Spiccato and the two Staccato articulations are real standouts, perfect for use in trailer tracks (as demonstrated in my demo above). The Ricochet, Sul Pont Scrape, Quiver, and Detuned Spiccatos will be a perfect fit for tension and horror music. The two types of Brushed Techniques along with Short Harmonics, on the other hand, are great for chamber music and more intimate settings.
In addition to this, Rotor – Solo Cello includes 15 “Flourishes” articulations. These flourishes mainly consist of various movements up and down, with crescendos, decrescendos, glissandi and bends. Each of them features 3 round robins, for added variety. As illustrated in my demo, these are perfect to add energy to any performance, or as a means to add short transitions between key musical moments. Finally, additional percussive techniques were recorded. These consist of cello body hits using various materials as a beater. Again, these can be super useful to add a sense of subtle rhythm to tension tracks. Each of them includes 7 round robins, preventing any sense of repetitive blandness.
In terms of microphone signals, Westwood Instruments went even a bit further than what was offered in their previous release. In addition to spot, close, room, and ambient mic signals, they included four ready-to-use mixes, each focusing on a different characteristic.
Mix 1 is the driest and most intimate, capturing the raw detail of the instrument with minimal room ambiance—ideal for close-up, detailed passages. Mix 2 is the most versatile, offering a balanced blend of direct sound and room tone, making it suitable for a wide range of styles and contexts. Mix 3 is the most aggressive and hyped, with a brighter and more enhanced sound that cuts through dense arrangements—perfect for high-energy sections. Mix 4 is the most ambient and distant, featuring a lush reverb that creates a spacious and atmospheric feel, great for cinematic and emotional passages. This comprehensive selection of mixes provides composers with maximum flexibility to shape their sound.
CONCLUSION
Rotor – Solo Cello is an exceptional library that features a strong character and sonic identity. The samples sound both incredibly raw yet musical and well-defined. It’s clear that the developers were dedicated to capturing the player’s energy in the recordings, and as a result, the library is a real pleasure to play.
With its generous amount of rhythmic loops and its great selection of short techniques, this library proves to be highly versatile, handling a wide range of genres—from hard-hitting trailer music to softer, more mellow tracks.
Rotor – Solo Cello is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a raw, direct, and gritty sound, or if you want something unique to layer with your other symphonic string libraries. I highly recommend it for those seeking that distinctive edge and hope that Westwood Instruments will extend this unique concept to the rest of the string family as well!
Pros
Compact & user-friendly interface
Exceptional sounding raw tone
Suitable for different music genres
Useful array of mic positions
Round-robin selector for short articulations
Cons
Some additional 6/8th loops would have been a great bonus
RECOMMENDED: 10/10
ROTOR – SOLO CELLO VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy. Learn more
Westwood Instruments has distinguished itself in recent years with a series of high-quality releases aimed at film composers. Starting with an upright felt piano 5 years ago, quickly followed by the very popular solo strings ‘Untamed’ series, the British developer always focused on unique sounds as their signature. They very recently introduced another addition to their catalog: Rotor – Solo Cello. This new library, focusing on rhythmic and short articulations, is meant to open a myriad of new possibilities for music composers. Let’s dive in and see what it is capable of!
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.
Learn more
Load video
OVERVIEW
Rotor – Solo Cello is a library focused on motion and rhythm. It features a diverse selection of repetition performances and short techniques, performed by cellist Polly Virr, who had already participated in Westwood’s previous release Novella Origins. With around 150 tempo-synced rhythms, 15 short articulations, 15 flourish articulations, and additional cello percussion sounds, Rotor – Solo Cello comes well equipped to craft rhythmic-based tracks. Recorded in Studio Two at The Nave, the library features a very dry and direct sound.
Rotor – Solo Cello runs in Kontakt and Kontakt Player version 6 and above. After buying the library, you can download it using the free Pulse download manager and register it in Native Access. The process is simple and straightforward. After installation, Rotor – Solo Cello occupies about 32.6 GB of hard drive space.
INTERFACE
Rotor’s interface is beautiful, with a tasteful mix of dark and vintage-inspired color tones. Although text is present – mainly for the various rhythm descriptions – it is not overbearing and very easily readable. The library’s various functions are spread across three pages.
The main ‘Home’ page contains all the major settings composers could need. We can see Westwood Instruments planned this exceptionally well, as other developers sometimes spread these crucial controls out over several pages, focusing on form over function.
The layout here is simple but very effective: a technique selector at the top (along with associated settings such as tempo sync, time signature, and feel), global instrument controls, and a microphone position mixer at the bottom. Having all these settings easily accessible makes using this library very simple.
Individual advanced settings can be found by clicking the pen icon at the top right corner of any technique. This will open a menu where users can adjust dynamic control and ADSR. Additionally, there’s a fantastic feature: you can see in real time which round robins are being played and exclude any you don’t want. This saves a lot of time and eliminates the need for audio bounces and edits.
The second page has the master effects, including common ones like EQ, reverb, delay, and stereo width. There’s also a so-called transpitch setting, which plays the samples as if they were pitched down, then brings them back up to the correct pitch. This creates a sound that’s in tune with the key you play but has a darker and somewhat slower quality—perfect for sound design!
Finally, the third settings page includes additional general options like velocity sensitivity, keyswitches, and purge controls. The ability to purge unused articulations is a fantastic feature, especially useful for building templates.
THE SOUND OF ROTOR – SOLO CELLO
From the moment I started playing, Rotor – Solo Cello stood out with a close, “in-your-face” presence—an absolute powerhouse of sound! The cello was recorded with high fidelity, delivering a raw and aggressive tone that’s truly captivating. The unique acoustics of The Nave studio are clearly reflected in the samples, creating the impression that the player is right there in the room with you!
I’ve created an audio demo showcasing some of the different articulations and techniques present in the library.
Click on the button to load the content from w.soundcloud.com.
Load content
The demo uses Rotor Solo Cello almost exclusively, except for the pads at the start that were done using Westwood Instruments’ Novella Origins. I used a combination of various loops along with short articulations, to test their interaction and usability. As you can hear, the shorts sound particularly convincing, and, thanks to the high number of round robins (7 for the vast majority of techniques) it is easy to craft musical phrases without them sounding robotic or repetitive.
The 150 different rhythmic loops offered sound amazing and versatile. They go from simple repetitions to far more fiery performances with additional flourishes and energy from the player. They are recorded in 4/4 and 6/8 (with a strong dominance of 4/4 rhythms). Westwood Instruments had their cellist record unique performances for each tempo, instead of simply playing the same phrase at different speeds, to better capture the energy of each tempo. However, users still have the option to sync these performances to their DAW’s tempo settings, offering maximum flexibility.
The different short articulations represent a strong set destined to cover most needs: from aggressive spiccatos to the softer brushed techniques, the library is versatile and capable of a range of different musical expressions. Among these, the Spiccato and the two Staccato articulations are real standouts, perfect for use in trailer tracks (as demonstrated in my demo above). The Ricochet, Sul Pont Scrape, Quiver, and Detuned Spiccatos will be a perfect fit for tension and horror music. The two types of Brushed Techniques along with Short Harmonics, on the other hand, are great for chamber music and more intimate settings.
In addition to this, Rotor – Solo Cello includes 15 “Flourishes” articulations. These flourishes mainly consist of various movements up and down, with crescendos, decrescendos, glissandi and bends. Each of them features 3 round robins, for added variety. As illustrated in my demo, these are perfect to add energy to any performance, or as a means to add short transitions between key musical moments. Finally, additional percussive techniques were recorded. These consist of cello body hits using various materials as a beater. Again, these can be super useful to add a sense of subtle rhythm to tension tracks. Each of them includes 7 round robins, preventing any sense of repetitive blandness.
In terms of microphone signals, Westwood Instruments went even a bit further than what was offered in their previous release. In addition to spot, close, room, and ambient mic signals, they included four ready-to-use mixes, each focusing on a different characteristic.
Mix 1 is the driest and most intimate, capturing the raw detail of the instrument with minimal room ambiance—ideal for close-up, detailed passages. Mix 2 is the most versatile, offering a balanced blend of direct sound and room tone, making it suitable for a wide range of styles and contexts. Mix 3 is the most aggressive and hyped, with a brighter and more enhanced sound that cuts through dense arrangements—perfect for high-energy sections. Mix 4 is the most ambient and distant, featuring a lush reverb that creates a spacious and atmospheric feel, great for cinematic and emotional passages. This comprehensive selection of mixes provides composers with maximum flexibility to shape their sound.
CONCLUSION
Rotor – Solo Cello is an exceptional library that features a strong character and sonic identity. The samples sound both incredibly raw yet musical and well-defined. It’s clear that the developers were dedicated to capturing the player’s energy in the recordings, and as a result, the library is a real pleasure to play.
With its generous amount of rhythmic loops and its great selection of short techniques, this library proves to be highly versatile, handling a wide range of genres—from hard-hitting trailer music to softer, more mellow tracks.
Rotor – Solo Cello is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a raw, direct, and gritty sound, or if you want something unique to layer with your other symphonic string libraries. I highly recommend it for those seeking that distinctive edge and hope that Westwood Instruments will extend this unique concept to the rest of the string family as well!
Pros
Cons
RECOMMENDED: 10/10
ROTOR – SOLO CELLO VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
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Learn more
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